What would probably be bone-shattering boredom would ruin stay-at-home parenthood for me if it weren’t for my walkman and books on tape checked out from my local libray.
Which is how I came to discover the wonderful Regency romances of Georgette Heyer. Exactly what you need to accompany you through a day changing diapers and hanging out at the playground.
Until my library buys MORE of the Heyer books on tape (I’ve probably run through about 25) I need to find someone else to listen to.
Is there anyone else sort of like her from the past or in the present, popular and prolific enough to possibly be in my library’s audiobooks collection?
Wasn’t a big romance fan till I found her. I like that her heroines are frequently not beautiful or spitfires (the beautiful spitfires are often the comic relief!). I like that there’s no sex, only tension. I love the historical accuracy.
Thanks!
I saw your question and waited to reply until I could check in with one of the ladies in my book club who is a big Heyer fan. She recommended Miss Read and Jan Karon, with the comment that while neither is exactly like Heyer, their books are somewhat similar in overall quality and tone of the writing, and should be easy to find in audiobook format.
I always recommend Elysweth Thane to Heyer fans, but her books are out of print and hard enough to find as actual books, let alone books on tape. But, if you ever see a Thane at a garage sale or thrift shop, you might want to give it a try.
Thanks! My library has both those authors on audiotape and I have already placed holds.
My library also had 22 titles by Elysweth Thane, (though none on tape) so I will check her out too. I really appreciate the suggestions.
If you’re looking for new genres, science fiction author Lois McMaster Bujold has openly acknowleged Heyer as an inspiration to her work. A Civil Campaign in particular was dedicated to Heyer (but be advised that most of Bujold’s work is part of a series with recurring characters so jumping into the series with a latter work like A Civil Campaign might be a mistake.)
A Civil Campaign eh? Betcha it’s based on An Infamous Army, Heyer’s one big snoozer as far as I’m concerned (Endless battleground descriptions of the Battle of Waterloo).
But any friend of Georgette Heyer’s is a friend of mine. What is the first book in that series?
Thanks!
Most of Bujold’s novels are part of the ongoing Barrayar series (named for the planet which is the setting for most of them). The series roughly spans two generations. I won’t try to summarize the plotlines and characters beyond saying the two main characters are Cordelia Neismith-Vorkosigan and her son Miles Vorkosigan. The novels have a military background (many of the characters are professional soldiers) but are not military fiction.
The main plot of A Civil Campaign is a man’s attempt to convince a woman to marry him despite the fact that her recently ended first marriage was a disaster and she’s decided to stay single the rest of her life. Not a story you’re likely to see in a W.E.B. Griffin novel.
I’d recommend starting out with Cordelia’s Honor, which is a compilation of Bujold’s first novel, Shards of Honor, and its latter sequel, Barrayar. The upside is you’ll be starting at the beginning of the series. The downside is that Bujold has grown as a writer and Shards of Honor is not her best book.